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Corrected

Ok maybe my statement wasnt clear with just having factions i lose out too balthazars spirit, essence bond and SOJ is there alternatives i could use or do i really need a copy of prophecies to make a 600 monk work

cyclone+bonetti's may provide the necessary energy management in certain very conditional circumstances. It would be harder and worse, and that's assuming you bonetti's is even available which I'm not sure is the case.

I'l pull this thread out of the grave rather than make Yet Another Spirit Bond Monk Thread.

Anyway, I'm in the same pickle as the OP. I only have Factions, which means that many of the good energy management skills are missing. As such, I've had to adapt the usual SB build. This is still being tested, but I was able to solo Jade Brotherhood Knights with a lvl 18 Mo/Me who hadn't completed one of her 15 attribute quests, so it can't be a total loss. Mesmers and Mages still smack me around, but with practice and some extra attribute points, that may change. Be aware that the exact number in the skills and attriobutes may be a bit off, as I'm recreating this from memory.

General thoughts:
Regaining energy is the big problem. As such anything that boosts your energy is good, because it will hopefully allow you to take down the enemies before you run dry. A bit of extra HP doesn't hurt either, but you can do without.

When refreshing spells, be sure to wait until the last possible moment. A few unprotected hits won't kill you, but be sure to refresh Protective Spirit before anything else.

All required skills can be bought in Kaineng Center.

Equipment:
Starting armor or lowest AL ascetics you can find.
+10 E staff, or wand/focus with similar stats

Attributes (these are the attributes I have used in practice runs. Notice I don't have the full 200, only 155 with 153 used.):
Smiting: 11
Protection Prayers: 9+1 (headgear)
Inspiration: 7

Skills:
Spirit Bond: 84 hp healed for each attack or spell that does more than 60 dam
Protective Spirit: Max 10% of max health damage from single attack or spell
Retribution: Maintained. Returns 33% of damage taken (max 16).
Auspicious Incantation: For 20 seconds, you gain 140% of the energy of your next spell. That spells recharge is extended by its energy cost in seconds. AI's recharge timer is reset when triggered.
Energy Tap: Target loses 5 Energy. You gain 2 pr point lost.
Kirins Wrath: For 5 seconds, foes adjacent to location this is cast take 26 holy dam pr second.
Ether Signet: If you have less than 7 E, you gain 13 E (90 sec recharge)
*Optional* (Some sort of interrupt protection might be good)

Usage:

Pre-cast Retribution and allow your energy to rebuild. Attract a group of Jade Brotherhood Knights (there are 2x3 in Wajjin Bazaar just outside the Marketplace exit). As they close in, cast Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond. Target one of the knights.

SB will run out after 8 seconds, so recast that. Next PS will run out slightly before SB, so refresh both in that order. Immediately cast Auspicious Incantation and Energy Tap on a Knight. This should net you 18-20 energy. After they complete, SB should be running out again, but E-Tap finishes just in time for you to refresh it.

Wait a 2-3 seconds, then cast Kirins Wrath. If the knights do not drop now, the AoE will cause them to scatter, which buys you a bit of time to recharge energy. Trigger Leech Signet to get a final boost of energy, and you should be able to wear the last of them out.

Note that any "of Enchanting" mods or higher stats will change the order of this a bit.

So, critique, comments, questions?`

Last edited by GhostBoy; 20-09-2006 at 10:04.
Reason: Adjusted some numbers

Is prophecies-only. But I agree it would be a much better choice for e-management. Unfortunately, it is off-limits.

Its actually bloody annoying, though I can of course understand why ANet would do it. Every single farming build, and a handsome selection of the more generally useable builds out there, requires prophecies skills in their most effective forms. Like my build above, you can do some work-arounds or adapted versions, but when setting up this and a warrior farming build, I was constantly foiled by this limitation.

"Hey, that looks neat. Just what I need to comple..... errh scratch that. Another prophecies skill". :frustrated:

Is prophecies-only. But I agree it would be a much better choice for e-management. Unfortunately, it is off-limits.

Its actually bloody annoying, though I can of course understand why ANet would do it. Every single farming build, and a handsome selection of the more generally useable builds out there, requires prophecies skills in their most effective forms. Like my build above, you can do some work-arounds or adapted versions, but when setting up this and a warrior farming build, I was constantly foiled by this limitation.

"Hey, that looks neat. Just what I need to comple..... errh scratch that. Another prophecies skill". :frustrated:

If factions had come out first it is likely that the opposite would be true. The best builds being prophecies is mainly because the first skills that come into the game are when anet have the most creative ideas etc, sure new ideas come along in later, but it takes a loooong time for the meta game to shift to these new builds...

anyway:

essence bond/balthazars spirit>channeling

what about thinking outside the box and using something like power drain?

If factions had come out first it is likely that the opposite would be true. The best builds being prophecies is mainly because the first skills that come into the game are when anet have the most creative ideas etc, sure new ideas come along in later, but it takes a loooong time for the meta game to shift to these new builds...

anyway:

essence bond/balthazars spirit>channeling

what about thinking outside the box and using something like power drain?

lyssas aura
melandrus resilience
vim (^.^)

Don't think any of these will work, but you get the idea...

Ok, again this is a factions and core skills only build. Melandru's Resilience, like Victory is Mine and Channeling and Balthazars Spirit and Essence Bond are Prophecies-only skills. No good.

I think the application of Auspicious Incantation was pretty outside-the-box in the first place. And its not just me griping over a percieved injustice: Take a browse through the wiki for core or factions skills that regain energy for you. You won't find many. The best builds isn't just a matter of people not having figured Factions out yet. It's been out for many months now. Most "passive effect" e-management skills for this sort of build have nothing similar in Factions. E.g. Spirit of Failure, Price of Failure, Channeling, Balthazars Spirit, Essence Bond, Divine Spirit etc. etc.

Lyssa's Aura might work, but you'll need casters around. Plus its an elite and only works for a max of 9 seconds (as opposed to Balth/EB which are maintainables). I'll check it out once I get that far. It might fit into the optional slot, but it won't solve the basic problem.

The rest are pretty much conditional energy gains, and the wrong kind too. Balthazars Spirit/Essence Bond work so well, because they trigger on exactly what you know will happen all the time: you taking damage. Channeling works because you will be casting your enchantments often. That one is a bit easier to trigger than Power Drain f.inst. which requires that you catch a spell being interrupted, which means if nobody feels like throwing spells or you miss the interrupt, you cannot regain energy. The same applies for a lot, if not all, of the other candidates.

Like I said, I can certainly see why ANet chose the way they did, because I'm sorely tempted to buy Prophecies just to get the friggin skills I want. Until then, I must grin and bear it and have fun with my work-arounds.